From Frugal Foundations to Fortified Family Future

Pollie

I wouldn't dare! Google it. Any suggestions for replacing coconut milk in your linked recipes? I hate the stuff but always like the rest of the ingredients. Thanks.

Greying_Pilgrim

Ha ha - I trust you Pollie.  

No suggestions for alternatives re recipes - other than leave it out all together.  If you don't like the taste, it doesn't do much else (other than as a liquid addition, you could add extra water).  If you wanted the 'creaminess', you could always add in some greek yoghurt or something at the end of cooking, or ground almonds?

Greying X

rtandon27

@Pollie - if you are not dairy free, heavy cream (double cream here in the UK) works well as a substitute - I think there is also a dairy free alternative for double cream but I've never tried it myself

Greying_Pilgrim

Good Morning MFW'rs

Cold but bright start to the day with us.

I need to get a wash on to get ahead just now.

Tea last night was pizza & pasta plus cherry toms (from MrL box) for LG and baked tatties, cheese, baked beans and cherry toms for DH and I.  DH's tattie was a mahoosive, lone one from the MrS box, and mine was a large one out of the Melody bag in the MrL box.  DH was amazed that the cherry toms were in the box.  We all had yoghurt,  strawberries and banana for pud when LG got in.  The strawberries wouldn't have lasted past yesterday, and in some ways would have been good for cooking/jam, but de-hulled and quartered, they tasted fine - texture was slightly woolly on a couple, but you definitely got the lovely ripe strawberry taste, and we lapped them all up - a lovely early summer treat.  The banana was from the MrS box - battered and black on the outside, but perfectly good on the inside.  

My priority today will be to do anymore 'processing' of things to ensure that we get spiffing use out of the box contents.  I know people buy the boxes for a variety of reasons, and I can see why sometimes the contents are inexpensive pet food, but if I purchase them, it's to feed us, or share the bounty with others who will use it, if it's something that we don't eat (but is fit for consumption).  I don't buy boxes if we can't use the vast majority of contents.  

We watched the VE day concert last night.  I personally thought it was just about the right mix of traditional/modern, dance & theatre/musicianship & spoken word, and quite a lot of the testimony video had me suffering leaky eye syndrome - especially the lass recounting her evacuee experience - 4 and a half!  4 and a half!!  I'm not too sure if the Lancaster fly past excited concert-goers, or frightened their socks of.  Made me think of our own dear EH tho. 

Right, best get shifting a tail feather.  

Ta for popping by.  Appreciated.  Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Right, progress made.  

2 lots of washing out on the line, it's perfect drying weather.  Good sun and a nice breeze.

I've finished off the last of my acrylic blankets for charity, (must amend siggie figgie to 7/6), and have searched out the one that I thought I had stored away, and have rinsed all 3 that I now have and they are now drying flat with the dehu on laundry mode.  I can't line dry them unfortunately, as the pegs mark the yarn.  

I am glad that I have now used up all the yarn that was purchased specifically for these projects (acrylic is specified by the charity and care providers).  I know it was a sunk cost, and yes, now I've decided to move away from using acrylic yarn (for the most part), I could just have thrown in the towel and shipped everything off to the charity shop - there would only be me that knew that I hadn't finished the task.  But that was the issue, I knew I hadn't finished the projects, and the yarn and blankets were all taking up space in storage or project bags etc.  I'm glad I finished the project that I got stuck on last year, and this last blanket has taken a fraction of the time, so well worth plugging on.  Once the blankets are dry, I shall parcel them up and send them off.

I can now legitimately cast on a project that is special (to me, only to me), and give it my full focus (which it will need - lots of new techniques). 

I haven't spent any cash either today, so things are looking up 😁

Greying X

rtandon27

Well done on finishing up those blankets!  My Aunty back across the ponds calls them UFO's (UnFinished Objects) or WHIPS (Works Hopefully In Progress), and she too has vowed to spend less time this year collecting materials for crafts and more time doing the actual crafts!

Blackcats

well well done on the blankets.  My mum used to knit very brightly coloured blankets for a charity that she described in hushed tones - that helped ladies in Africa who had problems "down below" 🤷‍♀️

Cherryfudge

Well done for 7/6!

Greying_Pilgrim

rt - I'm conversant with the term 'wip's' for crafting, but I like the 'hopefully' in progress version! 😁 I had got a little like your Aunty, and I had all the good intentions, and all the resources, but stalled over confidence, or motivation or a fear of doing something 'fun' when I should have been doing 1,000 other things ☹️The baby blankets should have been a reasonable sized project, that didn't linger, tried out some new skills/stiches, and benefitted families with the end product.  Hence why I had bought some of the yarn, and was therefore loathed to just send it off to the chazzer in 'defeat'.

Blackcats - The baby blankets I knit are relatively sombre colours or white, but there is also the opportunity to pick bright colours for adults who are in UK hospitals undergoing treatments, and for children elsewhere in Europe.  Some people are so talented, and blankets that are clearly imbued with love, result.

Cherryfudge - I feel a fraud, as it's taken far longer than I thought to reach that number, and the 'bonus' blanket resulted from sufficient yarn being left over from previous blankets which used less yarn due to the stitch used.  I had planned to make more than i have.  Still, 🤞these latest blankies will be of a standard required, and ultimately be of use to the families.  

Bright start again with us, less breeze though.  But I've already got DH's workwear on.  

Tea last night was burgers and chips.  DH was late home from work, so we needed something that was relatively quick to cook, and easy to munch as he had to do something else once he got home.  

I need to do a dish that incorporates the asparagus today, as it won't last forever.  I'd love to do risotto - DH and I love it, but I seem to recall LG isn't so keen on asparagus - which is surprising, as they are usually ok with foods more on the 'bitter' spectrum of taste.  But i'm sure I can magic up something yum.  Not going to the shops meant I didn't spend any money, but I've also realised that I've run out of foil and so will need to get some more - soonest.  

Right, best shift a tail feather and get going.  Stuff to do. Ta for popping by.

Greying X

Greying_Pilgrim

Right, back from my walk to MrL and hB.  Left it a bit late, and it was very hot - but I slapped on the sunscreen, donned my hat and remembered a water bottle.  Kept on thinking on the way back of rt's words about the value of 'weighted' walking 😁  I was actually glad I walked in a way, as traffic was queuing all over the place, and whilst it's OK if you've a car with working A/C, t'aint much fun it you've not 😏

I spent £4.74 on food and £3.98 on foil. I have updated my siggie already.  2/3rds of the way through my grocery budget whilst only 1/3rd through the month 😬  Never mind, we are actually doing well for food stocks, so no biggie.  I did get some yeast in MrL as I noticed that it was on offer at 49p for a pack of sachets - normally about 69p I think.  Now I'll have to make more pizza........ 🙄🤣

DH's workwear is out on the line.  Yesterday's wash is folded and put away.  DH and LG went off out this morning on an errand, so I took the opportunity to put the charity blankets in front of the dehu for one last blast.  I am happy that they are bone-dry now, so they are ready to go.  Job for Monday I think.

Right, now I've had chance to cool down in a shaded room, I'd best get on with lunch.  Phew 🥵

Greying X